The present invention is a socket assembly for use in a ball and socket coupling.
Ball and socket couplings are widely used in mechanical linkages for transmitting force and motion. They have the advantage of providing unlimited rotation of the socket opening about the axis of the ball component and of permitting limited rocking motion about all axes perpendicular to the axis of the ball component. They are, accordingly, useful in linkages which are subject to misalignments and that involve compound motions. For example, ball and socket couplings are presently in use for connecting gas springs between car bodies and hatchback doors, trunk lids, engine compartment hoods and station wagon tailgate doors. In these and other uses, ball and socket couplings are well suited to the compound motions of the gas spring linkage and to the minor misalignments that occur in assembly of the vehicle.
A ball and socket coupling currently in use with gas springs includes a socket component which consists of a metal socket body having a ball-receiving socket and a generally C-shaped spring clip which fits over the socket body and has opposed end portions which pass through slots in the body and protrude part way into the socket far enough to capture the ball. The end portions are flat and lie in a common plane perpendicular to the axis of the socket. The slots are also aligned perpendicular to the axis of the socket, and the ball has an annular flat surface for engaging the protruding ends of the spring clip.
The above-described ball and socket coupling has proved quite satisfactory in operation. It is, however, comparatively expensive to manufacture. Moreover, the final assembly procedure involves pressing the socket assembly onto the ball stud, and it was found necessary to use hardened steel ball studs to prevent the spring clip from galling normal steel balls. Installation also requires a relatively high push-on force and some problems have occurred when the spring clip was not properly oriented on the socket body at final installation. For example, if the spring clip was rotated so that the extents of projection of the two ends into the socket were significantly different, the clip end which projected the greater distance into the socket would simply be folded up into the socket, and the coupling would thereby be rendered inoperable.